Each year we hike 100 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail in an effort to one day complete the trail. Each year it is interesting to see what people are wearing and how they pack. Since we are still in Washington state near the northern terminus and the end of the trail some of the items we see are nearing the end of their useful life. A trend I noticed in 2013 was women hiking in skirts. It seemed impractical to me at that time but 4 years later I am considering it for this year’s hike.

Possible advantages will be easier use of the bathroom in the woods, easier to add layers when I stop hiking and more cooling (since temperatures are supposed to be in the 90s in the lowlands). Possible disadvantages will be getting tangled up in bushes or caught on rocks or the perennial skirt getting caught up in the back in underwear or pack.

This year I am going to wear a skirt and carry my hiking pants just in case I hate it. I made this skirt which is from the first pattern I ever drafted for myself. I am not happy with the pockets and will probably redraft them next time to see if I can’t get them to lay flatter. I have also seen interesting pocket treatments and shapes for this hip pocket style that I will try next time. My waistband is also not a consistent width and I should spend more time measuring to get it right on the pattern.

I am delighted with the experimentation I did with top stitching. I tried one of the many patterns available on my sewing machine as the top stitch on the waistband and decided to do the same on the hem. Now I can’t stop and am considering adding at least 2 more rows to the hem if time allows.

I am not sure about the practicality of the length but hesitate to shorten it until I test it out. I’ll let you know what I discover.